Culinary Arts

Manuscript cookbook,
ca. 1770
Page 2 - Page 3
Page 4
Rare Book & Special
Collections Division (198.2)

As a scientist, Katherine Golden Bitting explored the chemistry, bacteriology and preservation of food and built a 2500-volume research collection devoted to the history, sociology and preparation of comestibles from Roman times to the twentieth century. She acquired manuscript and printed sources, looked for cross-cultural influences, and celebrated abundance while identifying the proper place of specific items within the context of a meal. The Bitting Collection is complemented by holdings on gastronomy given by Elizabeth Pennell which is strong in French and Italian cookbooks.